A Weekly Journal devoted to the Advancement of Science, publishing the official notice8 and proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, edited by J. McKeen Cattell and published every Friday by

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Entered as socond.class matter January 21. 1922, a t the Poat O5ce a t Utica. N. Y.. under the Act of March 3. 1879.

VOL.LV APRIL14, 1922 No. 1424

Horticulture as a Scienoe: DR. HENRY D. HOOKER, 384JR .........................................................

A Suggestion as to Method of Publication of Scientific Papers: PROFESSOR 388W. J . CROZIER

Charles W. Waidner: DR. S. W. STRATTON 389 Scientific Events:

Vienna Institute for Ioe Age Research; The All-Russian Congress of Zoologists in Petrograd; Association of Geologists and Naturalists i n P e M g and Vioilzity; The Yende l Centennial; Colloid Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin; Yale Uniyer- sity and Dr. Chiittenden .................................... 391

Soientifio Notes and News .................................. 394 University and Educational Notes .................... 397 Discussion and Correspondence:

Osborn versus Bateson on Evolution: PRO-FESSOR WILLIAME. RITTER. Further Con- sideration o f the Size of Vein-islets of Leaves as an Age Determinant: DR. HARRIS

....

M. BENEDICT.The Metric System: FEED-ERICK A. HALSEY, HENRY PAUL BUSOH. Concerning t b Article, " A New Graphic Analytic Method": WM. H.PROFESE~OR ROWERand PROFESSOE ........ 398E. H. HEDRICK

Special Articles : The Properties of Elements and Salts as related to the Dimensions of Atoms and Ions :DR. GEORGEL.CLARK............................ 401

The American Association for the Advance- ment of Science:

Section L (1)-The History of Scienoe: DR. FREDERICK ..............................E. BRASCH 405

PSYCHOLOGY AS A CAREER' PSYCHOLOGYis the science which deals with

the nature of human and animal behavior and with the direction of its forces from the point of view of mental life.

There are as many words in the dictionary with mental connotation as with physical. There are as many mental phenomena subject to soientsc study as material phenomena. The mental sciences may in the near future have as many branches and embrace as large scope as the material sciences.

As out of the pure physical sciences have come engineering, medicine, architecture,, and other forms of applied material sciences, so in the near future will come the applications of psychology to education, medicine, industry, art, and all other varieties of human endeavor in which scientific knowledge of human or ani- mal behavior can be made of practical value.

The opportunities for a career in mental science will, in the near future, be as numerous as in the material sciences.

No science is more intimately and practically related to the conduct of human life than is psychology. It is, indeed, concerned primarily with those facts and principles of experience and action upon which our understanding of ourselves as conscious beings and our ability to understand and sympathize with our fellows depend.

As now taught in the best colleges and uni- versities, psychology is presented in several fairly differentiated courses. Ordinarily there is one general introductory course of one year furnishing e general survey of the subject from

1 This article is one in a series published froin the various divisions in the National Research Council under the general topic, "Opportunities for a Career in Science. ) '

382 SCIENCE 1 \.OI,. LV, KO. 1424

varied points of view. Beyond this, specialized courses are offered.

Technical laboratory courses i n experimental psychology furnish training in the fundamen- tal principles of scientific procedure i n observ- ation, measurement, statistics, interpretation and formulation of the laws of mental yhe- nomena. This course furnishes a technique which should be employed i n all branches of psychology regarded as scientific or experi-mental.

Physiological psychology usually reviews the facts about the nervous system as taught in neurology for the purpose oJI tracing the pliys- ical basis of menta,l life anrl showing the 1.e- lation between the mental and the neural.

Genetic psychology is divided into two par t s ; mental evoluLion dealing with the training and development of mental life in the species, and mental development dealing with tlie unfolcl- ing of mental life and tlie integration of he-liavior i n the life of the individual. Within this field lies also the pi.ol,lem of the inherit- ance of mental traits.

Abnormal psychology deals with menlirl phenomena that are strange and irregular tle- viations from the normal but not strictly I'c- garded as disease; such as hypnotism, medinm- ship, and alterations of personality.

Animal psychology presents a field of greal interest in itself; but it is of special signifi- cance in that i t throws Light upon human Iil'e, particularly in the study of the simplest anti the highest forms of animal behavior.

Social psychology treats of the social aspects of mental life and often blends into other sub-jects, such as anthropology, social origins, so-cial ethics, social welfare, and eugeni'cs. Some-times race psychology, or the psychology of peoples, is differentiated from social psychoi-

ogy. Individual psychology is perhaps the mo;t

con.spicuous field of interest a t the present tinre as it is the fonndation f o r "human engineer-ing" in all its forms of selection and guidance of individuals as well as fo r a n intiinate and n!, curate account of chapaoter o r individualit? of' a person. I t has recently gained great impetus through the development of so-called mental t,ests.

Statistical psychology is a basic requirement f o r mental measurement, particularly as ern-ployed i n mental and physical testing and in psyeilology applied to education, commerce, sociology, and vital statistics.

Psycho-analysis has come in from the rnedi- cal side as :a unique and new approa,ch 'LO the stixdy of mental disorders such as hysteria, morbid fear, aversions, and suppressed desires; but irlso throws much fight upon the nature of normal mental life. This is yet a polemie field in wi1icl-i we And great enthusiasms anti :ill-

tagonisms i n contest. Behaviorism is a purely objective study of

human anci animal life without reference to I!le testimony of consciousness.

These items may suEee l o indicate roug!:l\-the principal points of view that the student entering upon a career in psychology must. av- quaint himself wilh as eacli eontributes a dis-tinct element to the conception of psycholoq. as a whole.

APPI,IE:DP'SYCHOI~OC:Y .I)syel.liatry, a s t11e science anti a r t of the

treatment of mental diseases, is tile only fully specialized profession whielr may hc regarded as applied psychology, although in many re-spects it has developed independently and has contributed much to normal psychology. But aside from psychiatry proper, there a re many specialties in medicine in which expert I-mow-ledge of the human mind and behavior is fun- damental; as i n the care ant1 t,reatmerlt of children, and the mental t reatn~ent of: all types of defectives and delinquents. Preventive medicine, public health education, and sanita- tion are h i l t largely m>ound psychologr as the science of lrurnan behavior.

Edncatioiial psychology presents numerous phases. Thus we have the psychology of the course of stad\-, of the child, of the adolescent, of tlie learnin# process, o f discipline, of par- ticular t ~ p e s of training, and of special classes. The science anrl a r t of education i,? p~.imarilj- applied psychology.

The psychology of lil i i j~~ess:rnd industry appears in several largc :rnd distinct fields: sirch as the psycilology of advertising, of sales- manship, of personnel, anci of vocational selee- tion and vn ions tvpes of eEcit>ncy activif.ics.

Legal psychology appears in two groups of interest; first, the psychology of evidence or testimony and pleading; and second, the psy- chology of crime, delinquency, defective men- tality, penology, dependency, correction, and special types of mental deviation.

Applied social psychology takes such forms as the psychology of social amelioration, eu-genics, race betterment, child welfare, commun- ity welfare, recreation and amusement, and vo- cational and avocational guidance.

The psychology of ar t appears in the psy- chology of music, of graphic and plastic arts, and of literature, dealing in each case with the psychology of ar t principles, the psychology of the individual, and the psychology of train- ing for the art.

The psychology of religion is applied mainly in the interpretation of religion and religious life, and in the organization of chawcter build- ing and religious education.

The above rubrics should not be regarded as an adequate classification of the fields of pure and applied psychology; they are listed merely as a suggestion for the purpose of showing the scope of the sciences and the types of outlets for a career.

The requirements for a career in psychology are in general the same as for other sciences; and psychology presents a wide range of out- lets through particular types of human interest. In determining whether or not the student is qualified for a career in science, he might make use of a little device in applied psychology as illustrated in the following rating scale:

ANALYZED RATING O F FITNESS FOR A SCIENTIFIC

CAREER

1. ~eas 'on in~power: capacity for solving prob- lems, both deductive and inductive.

2. Originality: creative imagination, brilliancy, planful initiative and fertility of rational ideas.

3. Memory: extensive, logical, serviceable, and ready command of facts.

4. Alertness: quick, incisive, and responsive ob- servation, thought and feeling.

5. Accuracy: precise, keen, regular and reliable observation, thought and feeling.

6. Application: power of concentration, sus-

tained attention, persistence, and well-regulated effort.

7. Cooperation: capacity for intellectual com-panionship, team work and leadership.

8. Moral attitude: intellectual honesty, whole- some moral standards, ideals and influences.

9. Health: nervous stability, physique, vitality, and endurance. 10. Zeal for investigation: deep interest in and

craving for original and creative work. Let the student rate himself and then ask three or more persons whom he regards as most com- petent and who know him well to rate him in-dependently. Record the rating on a scale of 1-100 in which 1represents the poorest exam-ple of this trait, and 100 the best that the per- son rating has ever observed in college studsfits. College students, as a selected class, then be- come the '(measuring scale."

These grades may be grouped as follows: 1 to 10 very poor; 11to 30 poor; 31 to 50 low average; 51 to 70 high average; 71 to 90 ex- cellent; and 91 to 100 superior.

These ratings will differ, but the very dif- ferences may throw significant light on the situation. For example, on "originality" the professor of literature may rate an individual low on the basis of observed work in poetry; whereas the chemist may rate him high on the bwis of observed work in saience. These rep- resent two types of originality; or one person rating may have encountered the flashy fertil- ity of ideas, whereas another may have ob-served a planful and persistent initiative, both of which represent originality, but of different types. For this reason the ratings on a given trait should not be aver-aged but analyzed. The student should seek a full and fmnk discussion of the grounds for each rating as this will analyze the situation further and throw important light on the na- ture of his character and capacities.

Nor should the ratings on the ten points ever be averaged. A man may be very high in one capa.city and low in another and such differ- enoes are significant; but an average of them would be mislehding. No person is uniformly high or low in all. These traits are not of equal value; some traits are more essential for one type of career than for another.

384 8CIENCE 1 Vor,. L\', No. 1424

I n general we may say that those persons who rank above 50 in the most essential h i t s give promise of achievement in a career in psychology.

Natural interest is another factor of which we should take account. A student seeking a oareer in psychology may have the opportunity of following his natural bent for interest in pure science or its applications to the educa- tional, social, ethical, medical, artistic, and other fields of human interest in which he may find his natural bent.

The study of psychology is usually begun in the second year in college; whereas many other subjects are begun in the high school or in the freshman year. As a result, it usually becomes a more advanced subject and there is more necessity for carrying it into graduate study. Most standard colleges and universities now offer good introductory courses in the subject, but beyond the elementary work, the student should seek institutions in which the particu- lar phase of psychology that he desires to pur- sue is most adequately represented. The best is none too good for one who desires to specid- ize. I n selecting, let the student choose, not on the basis of size of institution, but with ref- erence to the men who are recognized as most worth while in a particular specialty.

As a prerequisite to a career in psychology, i t is desirable that one should have command of French and German as a large portion of the literature on the subject is in these languages. He should also have pursued elemmtary courses in mathematics, biology, and physics. Other college subjects may be carried to ad-vantage with, or in sequence to, an elementary course in psychology.

There is now a movement on foot to provide for the certification of psychologists. Such cer- tification will be based on certain types of cour+ses, usually covering about three years of graduate work, and will entitle the psychologist to practice within his field of specialization. Legislation covering such licensing is now be-ing passed by dfferent states.

Psychology is a new science. In seeking ad- vice, only those who are conversant with cur-

rent literature and present movements in the subject should be consulted.

TYPESOF CAREER There are at present four distinct types of'

outlet : Teachers of PsyclaoEogy-The nature of this

work and its opportunities are perhaps best known.

Scie~~tijicBesearch-The coming in of ex-perimental psychology has opened up most faa- cinating new fields of investigation and manv agencies furnish opportunity for a career as original investigator. The leading universities usually encourage this in connection with some teaching; but there are opportunities in univcr-sities, scientific foundations, surveys, and pri- vately supported enterprises for persons who are unusually qualified for this type of work.

Specialists and Consulting Psycl~ologists-Here the opportunities are most varied and new fields are opening rapidly as a result of re-search in each of the branches of applied psychology.

Techluiciams-All the specialists I-quire teelr- nicians of various kinds as assistants. Mosc of these positions are, however, used as step- ping-stones or apprenticeships in the gaining of experience for independent work.

Highly qualified advanced students can often find scholarships, fellowships, assistantships, and other financial provisions, given theoreti- cally in recognition of some type of apprentice- ship to graduate students. The remunerations open to persons who seek a career in psychol- ogy vary so much that figures would dot be significant. I n general, they depend upon the natural ability, the degree of training, and successf ul specialization.

HORTICULTURE AS A SCIENCE1 Lrrt~most applied sciences, horticulture has

evolved by very slow degrees from an art, go:,-

erned by rules justified by experience, to :I

1 Read before the Association of Southern Agri-tultural Workers, Atlanta, Georgia, February 21, 1922